Each year the Ripley County Soil & Water Conservation Districts honor local farmers and landowners that have made great contributions to our county's natural resources. Those county award winners that stand out get submitted to the state. We are proud to have had two Indiana Conservation Farmer of the Year Award winners in the past few years awarded at the Indiana Association of Soil & Water Conservation District Annual Conference in Indianapolis. In 2010 Bob Brewington was one of three winners and in 2012 Larry Huffmeyer was the sole winner of the Indiana Conservations of the Year Award. This award honors a Hoosier farmer who actively incorporates and practices conservation on the land.
The Osgood resident and Purdue graduate is the third generation to farm the land. He and his wife, Charlene, purchased their first no-till planter in 1974. To this day they plant most of the 1300 acres of row crops using the no-till system. Huffmeyer also includes waterways, filter strips, cover crops, and wildlife habitat into his farming practices.
He and his son, Bill, work hard to keep their ground erosion free. They have placed many acres of the farm under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). They installed waterways and filter strips on the land, and also have 13.6 acres of CP33 which is the Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds. He is just as conservation minded on their rented ground, placing 150 acres under Continuous CRP and general CRP programs.
He also has participated in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The Huffmeyer's utilize cover crops on their row crop fields. In 2009, Larry and Bill incorporated turnips and radishes into their cover crop mix. Today almost 775 acres are put into cover crops annually.
Because of his consistently high regard for conservation measures over the course of his agricultural career spanning at least 25 years, Larry Huffmeyer was also honored with the Career Conservation designation.
Ripley County SWCD is proud to continue to partner with Larry on many programs and events. Larry Huffmeyer is now a HUB Farmer for the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative and has allowed his farm to be a test plot for this program. Larry also will hold a Cover Crop workshop in 2014 at his farm and plans to speak at many events in the coming years. Larry has already been a large advocate for Ripley County SWCD's Annual No-Till Breakfast that has been running for over 20 years.
We are proud to have landowners and partners like Larry Huffmeyer and look forward to the continued success with him and his farm.
The Osgood resident and Purdue graduate is the third generation to farm the land. He and his wife, Charlene, purchased their first no-till planter in 1974. To this day they plant most of the 1300 acres of row crops using the no-till system. Huffmeyer also includes waterways, filter strips, cover crops, and wildlife habitat into his farming practices.
He and his son, Bill, work hard to keep their ground erosion free. They have placed many acres of the farm under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). They installed waterways and filter strips on the land, and also have 13.6 acres of CP33 which is the Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds. He is just as conservation minded on their rented ground, placing 150 acres under Continuous CRP and general CRP programs.
He also has participated in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The Huffmeyer's utilize cover crops on their row crop fields. In 2009, Larry and Bill incorporated turnips and radishes into their cover crop mix. Today almost 775 acres are put into cover crops annually.
Because of his consistently high regard for conservation measures over the course of his agricultural career spanning at least 25 years, Larry Huffmeyer was also honored with the Career Conservation designation.
Ripley County SWCD is proud to continue to partner with Larry on many programs and events. Larry Huffmeyer is now a HUB Farmer for the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative and has allowed his farm to be a test plot for this program. Larry also will hold a Cover Crop workshop in 2014 at his farm and plans to speak at many events in the coming years. Larry has already been a large advocate for Ripley County SWCD's Annual No-Till Breakfast that has been running for over 20 years.
We are proud to have landowners and partners like Larry Huffmeyer and look forward to the continued success with him and his farm.